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Thursday, October 7, 2021

The falling Zuckerberg

Further to the story of the scandalous Facebook, below is the full interview of the whistleblower, Frances Haugen on 60 Minutes....

In addition, here's a Wall Street Journal article about Haugen: The Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Says She Wants to Fix the Company, Not Harm It. Excerpt:

The former Facebook employee who gathered documents that formed the foundation of the Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files series said she acted to help prompt change at the social-media giant, not to stir anger toward it.

Frances Haugen, a former product manager hired to help protect against election interference on Facebook, said she had grown frustrated by what she saw as the company's lack of openness about its platforms' potential for harm and unwillingness to address its flaws. She is scheduled to testify before Congress on Tuesday. She has also sought federal whistleblower protection with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a series of interviews, Ms. Haugen, who left the company in May after nearly two years, said that she had come into the job with high hopes of helping Facebook fix its weaknesses. She soon grew skeptical that her team could make an impact, she said. Her team had few resources, she said, and she felt the company put growth and user engagement ahead of what it knew through its own research about its platforms' ill effects.

Toward the end of her time at Facebook, Ms. Haugen said, she came to believe that people outside the company – including lawmakers and regulators – should know what she had discovered.

"If people just hate Facebook more because of what I've done, then I've failed," she said. "I believe in truth and reconciliation – we need to admit reality. The first step of that is documentation."

And the Wall Street Journal series, The Facebook Files

What would you feel about Facebook after reading and hearing all of these? Horrified doesn't even begin to describe one's feelings. Shocked, disgusted, and appalled come to mind! Facebook's accusers say the company purposefully serves up the stuff that's bad for us - the stuff that stirs violence, spreads hate. Really disgusting!!!💀👽

So where will Facebook go from here? The scandal  probably won't completely destroy Facebook, but it will slow it down at least. So will the pressure from Congress. And so will the folks wise enough to see the harm that's happening to them.

Add it all up, and we see a business that has a struggle in front of it.

From its chart, it is just sitting on the strong support level on the weekly curve on the 50 MA and it won't be a surprise to see it trying to bounce back in the near term. But I won't just believe its fallout is done and completed. I think there is still good chance it may come back down again and even test its 200 MA (around 220 at the moment). Sure because it is the weekly chart, it won't be a fast move but likely in a few months time. Betting for a quick and sustainable recovery for FB is probably a mistake. 

The best thing that can happen to FB is to split it into a few smaller companies. That can ensure it won't have the current monopoly power to continue to hurt the society!! 


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